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the meek shall inherit the earth, it is clear that some will be in the brightness of the epiphany of God, while others will rest under the protection of the heavenly powers, and still others in the glory, which is from the light, as from smoke, will be covered. Perhaps the light will shine upon Zion itself; but upon that which is round about it a cloud of day will shine, which has its origin from nowhere else than from the light itself, just as smoke comes from fire, so this cloud has its substance from the light, under which those who dwell will enjoy great glory, as being illumined by the cloud itself, which in the heat is spread over their heads, providing sweet breath from its shade; and when harsh rains break forth, it will fulfill the need for waterproof coverings, and will sufficiently shelter those who need to escape notice, and will obstruct vision by its own density. Such was the bright cloud at the Transfiguration of the Lord that enveloped the disciples. And since the stability and, as it were, the consistency of the cloud is a sign of calm, it indicates the untroubled nature of the state at that time through the shelter provided by the cloud. Further, in order to see more clearly what it is to be 'in a secret place of shelter,' we are led to an example of this kind. Let there be someone sought by his enemies, but guarded by his own people in a small house that is hard to find. Something of this sort, then, must be understood to happen concerning the Saint, when he is sheltered by that divine cloud, so that he may not be easily assailed by his enemies. So much for the clearer understanding of the help given to those around Zion, that by day the cloud shades them, so that they may be delivered from the heat, and by night a light of fire burns for them, illuminating them, and that at both times there is for them safety from those who plot against them.

5.t CHAPTER 5

5.139 I will sing now to my beloved a song of my beloved for my vineyard. All songs seem to contain a more cheerful state of affairs. The ode in Exodus is a song of victory: 'Let us sing to the Lord, for he has been gloriously glorified'; the Song of Songs is a nuptial ode, dramatically composed. But here the word contains a threat against the vineyard, brought on by the just judgment of God. But might it be that even the fearful things, by being referred to a good end, were fittingly included among the songs? But the person delivering the ode is the Holy Spirit, which sings the song to the beloved vineyard. And this song is of the Beloved. And who is the Beloved by nature, if not the Only-Begotten, the Good-in-itself, for whom all things long, whose love has been naturally and ineffably instilled in the minds of all rational beings? Since, therefore, according to the voice of the Lord, the Paraclete receives all things from the Only-Begotten, and announces them to us, he also says that the ode is of the Beloved, as having received it from him. But this same ode is a song for the once beloved vineyard if it repents; but for the one persisting in sin it becomes a lament and a woe, just as we have learned in Ezekiel, where upon the same scroll were written a melody and a lament and a woe. And the word of the Lord, calling to eternal life and the enjoyment of heavenly goods, was a melody, rousing souls to a rhythmic and harmonious movement and to activity according to virtue. But the preaching of John, turning the disobedient to repentance, was a lament, working a sorrow that leads to salvation without regret. But the Jews were found, on account of the hardness of their hearts, to be neither urged toward life by the good things, nor led to repentance by the more somber things. Thus indeed the present song also contains praise of the

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κληρονομήσουσιν οἱ πραεῖς, δῆλον ὅτι τινὲς μὲν ἐν τῇ φαιδρότητι τῆς τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπι φανείας, τινὲς δὲ ὑπὸ τὴν σκέπην τῶν οὐρανίων δυνά μεων ἀναπαύσονται, καὶ ἄλλοι ἐν τῇ δόξῃ, τῇ ἀπὸ τοῦ φω τὸς, ὡς ἀπὸ καπνοῦ, καλυφθήσονται. Τάχα δὲ αὐτῇ μὲν τῇ Σιὼν ἐπιλάμψει τὸ φῶς· τὰ δὲ περὶ κύκλῳ αὐτῆς ἐπι λάμψει νεφέλη ἡμέρας, ἥτις οὐκ ἄλλοθεν ἔχει τὴν γένεσιν, ἢ ἀπ' αὐτοῦ τοῦ φωτός, ὥσπερ καπνὸς ἀπὸ πυρὸς, οὕτως αὕτη ἀπὸ τοῦ φωτὸς τὴν σύστασιν ἔχουσα, ὑφ' ἣν οἱ διαι τώμενοι μεγάλης τῆς δόξης ἀπολαύσουσιν, ὡς ὑπ' αὐτῆς τῆς νεφέλης καταλαμπόμενοι, ἐν καύματι μὲν ὑπερηπλω μένης τῶν κεφαλῶν αὐτῶν, καὶ ἡδεῖαν ἐκ τοῦ ἐπισκιασμοῦ παρεχομένης ἀναπνοήν· ὄμβρων δὲ σκληρῶν καταῤῥηγνυ μένων, τὴν τῶν στεγανῶν σκεπασμάτων χρείαν ἀναπλη ρούσης, καὶ τοὺς διαλαθεῖν δεομένους ἱκανῶς περισκεπούσης, καὶ τῇ πυκνότητι τῇ παρ' ἑαυτῆς διειργούσης τὰς ὄψεις. Ὁποία τις ἦν κατὰ τὴν Μεταμόρφωσιν τοῦ Κυρίου ἡ φω τεινὴ νεφέλη τοὺς μαθητὰς περιστείλασα. Ἐπειδὴ δὲ ἡ στάσις καὶ οἷον ἡ σύμπηξις τῆς νεφέλης νηνεμίας ἐστὶ σημεῖον, τὸ ἀτάραχον τῆς τότε καταστάσεως διὰ τῆς κατὰ τὴν νεφέλην σκέπης ἐνδείκνυται. Ἔτι ὑπὲρ τοῦ τρανότερον ἰδεῖν, τί ἐστι τὸ Ἐν ἀποκρύφῳ σκέπης γενέσθαι, τοιούτῳ τινὶ παραδείγματι προσαγόμεθα. Ἔστω τις ζητούμενος μὲν ὑπὸ τῶν πολεμίων, ὑπὸ δὲ τῶν οἰκείων ἔν τινι οἰκίσκῳ δυσευρέτῳ φρουρούμενος. Τοιοῦτον οὖν τι νοητέον γίνεσθαι περὶ τὸν Ἅγιον, ὑπὸ τῆς θείας ἐκείνης νεφέλης σκεπαζούσης αὐτὸν, πρὸς τὸ μὴ εὐεπιχείρητον εἶναι τοῖς πολεμίοις. Τοσαῦτα εἰς τὸ σαφέστερον νοηθῆναι τοῖς κύκλῳ Σιὼν τὴν γινομένην βοήθειαν, εἰς τὸ ἡμέρας μὲν σκιάζειν αὐτοὺς τὴν νεφέλην, ἵνα ῥυσθῶσιν ἀπὸ καύματος, νυκτὸς δὲ φῶς πυρὸς αὐτοῖς καίεσθαι, φωτίζον αὐτούς, ἀμφοτέροις δὲ τοῖς καιροῖς τὴν ἀπὸ τῶν ἐπιβουλευόντων ἀσφάλειαν ὑπάρχειν αὐτοῖς.

5.t ΚΕΦΑΛΑΙΟΝ εʹ

5.139 Ἄσω δὴ τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ ᾆσμα τοῦ ἀγαπητοῦ μου τῷ ἀμπελῶνί μου. Τὰ ᾄσματα πάντα φαιδροτέραν δοκεῖ περιέχειν πραγ μάτων κατάστασιν. Ἡ ἐν τῇ Ἐξόδῳ ᾠδὴ ᾆσμά ἐστιν ἐπινίκιον· Ἄσωμεν τῷ Κυρίῳ, ἐνδόξως γὰρ δεδόξασται· τὸ Ἆσμα τῶν ᾀσμάτων ἐπιθαλάμιός ἐστιν ᾠδὴ, δραμα τικῶς πεπλεγμένη. Ἐνταῦθα δὲ ἀπειλὴν ὁ λόγος ἔχει τὴν κατὰ τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος κατὰ τὴν δικαίαν κρίσιν τοῦ Θεοῦ ἐπαγομένην. Μήποτε δὲ καὶ αὐτὰ τὰ φοβερὰ, τῷ πρὸς τέλος χρηστὸν ἀναφέρεσθαι, πρεπόντως ἐγκατετάχθη τοῖς ᾄσμασι; Πρόσωπον δὲ τὸ ἀπαγγέλλον τὴν ᾠδήν ἐστι τὸ Πνεῦμα τὸ ἅγιον, ὅπερ ᾄδει τὸ ᾆσμα τῷ ἠγαπημένῳ ἀμπε λῶνι. Ἔστι δὲ τὸ ᾆσμα τοῦτο Ἀγαπητοῦ. Τίς δὲ ὁ φύσει Ἀγαπητὸς, ἢ ὁ Μονογενὴς, τὸ αὐτοάγαθον, οὗ πάντα ἐφίε ται, οὗ ἡ ἀγάπησις φυσικῶς καὶ ἀῤῥήτως ταῖς πάντων τῶν λογικῶν διανοίαις ἐνέστακται; Ἐπεὶ οὖν, κατὰ τὴν τοῦ Κυρίου φωνὴν, ὁ Παράκλητος ἐκ τοῦ Μονογενοῦς λαμβάνει πάντα, καὶ ἀναγγέλλει ἡμῖν, καὶ τὴν ᾠδὴν τοῦ Ἀγαπητοῦ φησιν εἶναι, ὡς παρ' αὐτοῦ λαβών. Ἡ δὲ αὐτὴ ᾠδὴ μετανοοῦντι μὲν τῷ ποτε ἠγαπημένῳ ἀμ πελῶνι ἆσμά ἐστιν· ἐπιμένοντι δὲ τῇ ἁμαρτίᾳ θρῆνος γίνεται καὶ οὐαὶ, καθάπερ ἐν τῷ Ἰεζεκιὴλ μεμαθήκαμεν, ἐπὶ τοῦ αὐ τοῦ βιβλίου μέλος καὶ θρῆνον γεγραμμένον καὶ οὐαί. Καὶ ὁ τοῦ Κυρίου λόγος εἰς ζωὴν αἰώνιον καὶ ἀπόλαυσιν οὐρανίων ἀγα θῶν προκαλούμενος, μέλος ἦν πρὸς εὔρυθμον καὶ ἐμμελῆ κίνη σιν καὶ τὴν κατ' ἀρετὴν ἐνέργειαν τὰς ψυχὰς διεγείρων. Τὸ δὲ Ἰωάννου κήρυγμα, εἰς μετάνοιαν τοὺς ἀπειθεῖς ἐπιστρέ φον, θρῆνος ἦν, λύπην εἰς σωτηρίαν ἀμεταμέλητον ἐργαζό μενος. Εὑρίσκοντο δὲ οἱ Ἰουδαῖοι, διὰ τὴν πώρωσιν τῆς καρδίας, μήτε τοῖς χρηστοῖς προτρεπόμενοι εἰς ζωὴν, μήτε ὑπὸ τῶν στυγνοτέρων ἐναγόμενοι εἰς μετάνοιαν. Οὕτω δὴ καὶ τὸ ἐν χερσὶν ᾆσμα καὶ ἔπαινον ἔχει τῆς